Dominic Christian, executive chairman of Aon Benfield International, has been appointed chair of ClimateWise, an organization that aims to help the insurance industry respond to the risks and opportunities of the climate-risk protection gap – the growing divide between total economic and insured losses from climate change.
Dominic replaces the outgoing chair, Maurice Tulloch, chief executive officer, International Insurance at Aviva whose term ended on Dec. 31, 2017.
In this role, Christian will support ClimateWise in its role of empowering the industry to fulfill its role as society’s risk managers, said a statement from ClimateWise, which consists of a group of 28 leadership insurance industry organizations. Specifically, ClimateWise helps identify the commercial opportunities that help to promote physical resilience to climate risk.
“Dominic’s long and deep knowledge of insurance, coupled with his immense personal passion, makes him exceptionally well positioned to help us deliver a more sustainable insurance model,” according to Tom Herbstein, the director of ClimateWise. “With a broker at the helm, this only further reinforces the immense untapped potential residing within the industry’s data, modeling and general risk management expertise.”
Dominic takes over the position from Maurice Tulloch who has chaired the group through three years of exceptional growth and focused the group on the commercial risks and opportunities associated with the climate risk protection gap.
“We need a proactive and collaborative response to tackle one of our most profound challenges – the widening climate risk protection gap,” said Christian. “I have always admired ClimateWise for playing a unique leadership role in this critical area.”
“It’s been an honour to have chaired ClimateWise for the past three years,” said Tulloch. “Climate change poses significant and real risks for people, and I passionately believe that the insurance industry has a major role to play in reducing its impact.”
Looking ahead to 2018, Climate Wise said it is increasing its focus on how the industry can support society to manage the climate risk protection gap. “This includes ways the insurance sector can support a more empowering regulatory environment, how insurers can inform other parts of the financial system on its exposure to climate risk and the role it can play in collaborating with cities to manage their physical exposure to risk,” the organization said.
Established in 2007, ClimateWise is a growing network of global insurers, reinsurers, brokers and industry service providers with a commitment to reduce the impact of climate change on society and the insurance industry. It is a voluntary initiative, driven by its members and facilitated by the University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership.
Resources:
- ClimateWise: http://www.cisl.cam.ac.uk/business-action/sustainable-finance/climatewise
- University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership: http://www.cisl.cam.ac.uk
Topics Market Climate Change Aon
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